Small watermaker 3 gph

[GILow]

Originally Posted by kmacdonald

A 3gph isn't worth your time.

Absolute rubbish.

In 24 hours that's 72 gallons, about a week's worth of water on my boat and I have hot and cold running water, fresh water showers and a front loading washing machine.

Something like this can run from my solar and doesn't need the engine running. A very neat solution.

I'm plain in awe of the sort of creative people who put this sort of system together and share their results.

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by GILow

Absolute rubbish.

In 24 hours that's 72 gallons, about a week's worth of water on my boat and I have hot and cold running water, fresh water showers and a front loading washing machine.

Something like this can run from my solar and doesn't need the engine running. A very neat solution.

I'm plain in awe of the sort of creative people who put this sort of system together and share their results.

Great that you can run it from solar.
But that's feasible for a max of 12hours a day, no?
Yes you can use a battery overnight, but you need to recharge that as well.

Maybe still worth considering a slightly higher capacity.
These pumps are NOISY and wear out if run nonstop.

So larger capacity means less running time means more quiet time.
Just some thoughts to ponder upon.

We are going to install a DIY watermaker soon, but instead of aiming for 7.5l an hour we aim for 70 to 90l an hour, which means we need to run it only every second or third day for one hour.
Less wear on pumps and, as mentioned more quiet time.
The cost to built this is not much higher than a smaller one and definitely cheaper than ready made commercial solutions of any kind.
Maybe slightly less comfortable to use, but we are ready to accept that.

[OneTwoSail]

Originally Posted by Franziska

Great that you can run it from solar.
But that's feasible for a max of 12hours a day, no?
Yes you can use a battery overnight, but you need to recharge that as well.

Maybe still worth considering a slightly higher capacity.
These pumps are NOISY and wear out if run nonstop.

So larger capacity means less running time means more quiet time.
Just some thoughts to ponder upon.

We are going to install a DIY watermaker soon, but instead of aiming for 7.5l an hour we aim for 70 to 90l an hour, which means we need to run it only every second or third day for one hour.
Less wear on pumps and, as mentioned more quiet time.
The cost to built this is not much higher than a smaller one and definitely cheaper than ready made commercial solutions of any kind.
Maybe slightly less comfortable to use, but we are ready to accept that.

Noise is one of the issues that bothers me, so I'm thinking of ways to avoid it. If that can be solved then the low production rate isn't an issue to me either, so I'd very happily go for this model.



One option I've thought of that completely solves the noise issue is to fit a timer switch to turn it off if I make water while off the boat. Of course there could be a risk that the tank overfills or a pipe bursts, but with the low rate a decent bilge pump should be able to deal with that, or I could even have the water maker pumps turn off if the bilge pump turns on with some electronics.



I am also curious on the one you plan to build. Do you have details or a link?

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by OneTwoSail

Noise is one of the issues that bothers me, so I'm thinking of ways to avoid it. If that can be solved then the low production rate isn't an issue to me either, so I'd very happily go for this model.



One option I've thought of that completely solves the noise issue is to fit a timer switch to turn it off if I make water while off the boat. Of course there could be a risk that the tank overfills or a pipe bursts, but with the low rate a decent bilge pump should be able to deal with that, or I could even have the water maker pumps turn off if the bilge pump turns on with some electronics.



I am also curious on the one you plan to build. Do you have details or a link?

See my post #102 above.
I'll add an option to drain the pressure washer pump completely after flushing the system with freshwater after use. A dry pump corrodes less.
Pressure washer pumps are cheap if it ever needs replacing.

[OldManMirage]

Originally Posted by H20maker

Pump update,

Sorry to bust in on this thread. I have been speaking to Pumptec about the 116C pumps, they are coming out with a new variation soon. It will be a billet aluminum model, the current one is cast aluminum model. It will be out shortly.

I am trying to get a hold of a few of them to get you all a good price. Let you know as soon as I find out. If you are interested, please PM and I will make sure to contact you about pricing and inventory.

I'm interested. Am I correct in thinking that a billet model is machined rather than cast and so would be better ?

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Franziska

Great that you can run it from solar.
But that's feasible for a max of 12hours a day, no?
Yes you can use a battery overnight, but you need to recharge that as well.

Maybe still worth considering a slightly higher capacity.
These pumps are NOISY and wear out if run nonstop.

So larger capacity means less running time means more quiet time.
Just some thoughts to ponder upon.

We are going to install a DIY watermaker soon, but instead of aiming for 7.5l an hour we aim for 70 to 90l an hour, which means we need to run it only every second or third day for one hour.
Less wear on pumps and, as mentioned more quiet time.
The cost to built this is not much higher than a smaller one and definitely cheaper than ready made commercial solutions of any kind.
Maybe slightly less comfortable to use, but we are ready to accept that.

There are two basic approaches to making fresh water: fast or slow.

Both have their pros and cons.

A boat like mine, with 780 Watts of solar, very low daily power consumption and a moderate sized lead acid battery bank (675 AH) works extremely well with these sorts of slow systems.

If you had lithium, or engine driven power generation then the fast systems probably make more sense.

As for wearing out there are going to be much the same number of total hours available from a given system whether you run them for long, long periods or short bursts. With a slow system I’d prefer to do the job of replenishing the tanks in one protracted hit.

I have a Pursurvivor 35, which draws a measly 4.5 amps. Leave it to run for 48 hours at a go if needed. No problem.

[pdxsailordiver]

I’m having trouble finding the pumptec pump and motor.
Anyone have any leads.
Thanks

[Matt Johnson]

Originally Posted by GILow

There are two basic approaches to making fresh water: fast or slow.

Both have their pros and cons.

A boat like mine, with 780 Watts of solar, very low daily power consumption and a moderate sized lead acid battery bank (675 AH) works extremely well with these sorts of slow systems.

If you had lithium, or engine driven power generation then the fast systems probably make more sense.

As for wearing out there are going to be much the same number of total hours available from a given system whether you run them for long, long periods or short bursts. With a slow system I’d prefer to do the job of replenishing the tanks in one protracted hit.

I have a Pursurvivor 35, which draws a measly 4.5 amps. Leave it to run for 48 hours at a go if needed. No problem.

We've had one fast and multiple slow watermakers. The only issue I had with slow was finding the appropriate time to make water in questionable anchorages (most places with civilization close). We'd always wait for at least an incoming tide and an increase in water clarity. But that also needed to correspond with a full battery bank and good solar output. The Venn diagram for those two things meeting up when we're actually on the boat to start/stop the process was rather small.

With an AC driven system, I could quickly make enough water in the perfect sweet spot of the tidal cycle and be done for a few days. Including making enough for a good fresh water flush.

[ForeverDes]

Originally Posted by pdxsailordiver

I’m having trouble finding the pumptec pump and motor.
Anyone have any leads.
Thanks

About $600 here

[ForeverDes]

I've got a 24v house bank, does anyone know if there's a compatible 24v motor for the pumptec 116c? I'm sure I could make something work, even if that means a dedicated buck converter, but I'd prefer a native 24v motor, and it would be nice to have a source before starting.
Thanks

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by ForeverDes

I've got a 24v house bank, does anyone know if there's a compatible 24v motor for the pumptec 116c? I'm sure I could make something work, even if that means a dedicated buck converter, but I'd prefer a native 24v motor, and it would be nice to have a source before starting.
Thanks

Have a look for a truck windscreen whisper motor. Might work well.

[ForeverDes]

Looks like Steam-Brite has a 24v motor driven 116C pump available on their website. I'd searched with no luck earlier, but found it just now with different keywords.
Price with shipping looks to be about $750.

[ForeverDes]

Originally Posted by Franziska

Have a look for a truck windscreen whisper motor. Might work well.

Thanks, but luckily enough I found a pump/24v motor combo on Steam-Brite.

[H20maker]

Originally Posted by pdxsailordiver

I’m having trouble finding the pumptec pump and motor.
Anyone have any leads.
Thanks

I think that Pumptec is revising and updating the 116C pump. It will be released soon. Hang in there.

[Q Xopa]

Hello all,

I've got a 24V 116 Pump with the 105 cam.

I have not got the Membrane pressure yet, but will get a 2514 set up.

I have been looking for a 1,000 psi Pump over pressure shut off switch, but no success yet.

Anyone know where these can be sourced?

Thanks.